Historical Markers of Douglas County
Location: Western Douglas County, Carson Valley Directions: Along SR 206, 10 miles south of Genoa
N38° 52' 13.7" W119° 48' 34.1"
Date Conquered: 8/15/07 Nearest Intersection: Fredericksburg Rd. Quick Description: A unique marker remembering the colorful history of Sam Brown. Signed: Yes -- One sign (southbound) is severely faded! The other sign (northbound) looks like a revision of a former SHPO sign. Signed on both lanes of SR 206. Full Description: Exact description as reads ... Luther Canyon, west of this site, takes its name from Ira M. Luther, who from 1858-1865 had a sawmill there. The house across the road (east) was his home. After 1865, the canyon came to be known as Horse Thief Canyon, because of the "business" of John and Lute Olds, owners of the next ranch south. Besides operating a station along the Emigrant Trail for a number of years, they rustled horses from emigrants. The animals were sent up the canyon to drift over the ridge into Horse Thief Meadows; after resting and feeding, the horses were driven down to Woodfords Canyon to sell to other emigrants. A prospector called Saw Tooth was allegedly murdered and buried in the barn south of the Luther house. Sam Brown, a notorious badman, was shot and killed in front of the Olds barn in 1861 by a man he threatened. "Lucky Bill" Thorington, implicated in a murder in California, for which he was hanged by vigilantes in 1858, had a ranch two and a half miles to the south--and the pioneers called the school district "Fairview." In the b.g sits the site of the Luther House and the barn of Sam Brown. It's not too hard to believe that rustling was a common and serious offense here in Carson Valley. [118] Luther Canyon is an easily forgotten marker, one that sits on the far outskirts of Carson Valley.
Full Description: Exact description as reads ... Luther Canyon, west of this site, takes its name from Ira M. Luther, who from 1858-1865 had a sawmill there. The house across the road (east) was his home. After 1865, the canyon came to be known as Horse Thief Canyon, because of the "business" of John and Lute Olds, owners of the next ranch south. Besides operating a station along the Emigrant Trail for a number of years, they rustled horses from emigrants. The animals were sent up the canyon to drift over the ridge into Horse Thief Meadows; after resting and feeding, the horses were driven down to Woodfords Canyon to sell to other emigrants. A prospector called Saw Tooth was allegedly murdered and buried in the barn south of the Luther house. Sam Brown, a notorious badman, was shot and killed in front of the Olds barn in 1861 by a man he threatened. "Lucky Bill" Thorington, implicated in a murder in California, for which he was hanged by vigilantes in 1858, had a ranch two and a half miles to the south--and the pioneers called the school district "Fairview." In the b.g sits the site of the Luther House and the barn of Sam Brown. It's not too hard to believe that rustling was a common and serious offense here in Carson Valley. [118] Luther Canyon is an easily forgotten marker, one that sits on the far outskirts of Carson Valley.
Luther Canyon, west of this site, takes its name from Ira M. Luther, who from 1858-1865 had a sawmill there. The house across the road (east) was his home. After 1865, the canyon came to be known as Horse Thief Canyon, because of the "business" of John and Lute Olds, owners of the next ranch south. Besides operating a station along the Emigrant Trail for a number of years, they rustled horses from emigrants. The animals were sent up the canyon to drift over the ridge into Horse Thief Meadows; after resting and feeding, the horses were driven down to Woodfords Canyon to sell to other emigrants. A prospector called Saw Tooth was allegedly murdered and buried in the barn south of the Luther house. Sam Brown, a notorious badman, was shot and killed in front of the Olds barn in 1861 by a man he threatened. "Lucky Bill" Thorington, implicated in a murder in California, for which he was hanged by vigilantes in 1858, had a ranch two and a half miles to the south--and the pioneers called the school district "Fairview." In the b.g sits the site of the Luther House and the barn of Sam Brown. It's not too hard to believe that rustling was a common and serious offense here in Carson Valley. [118] Luther Canyon is an easily forgotten marker, one that sits on the far outskirts of Carson Valley.
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